Bassam Habbal, M.D. has been a staff cardiologist in the Section of Cardiovascular Medicine at Christ Hospital Medical Center since July of 1993. He board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, and Nuclear Cardiology.

Dr. Habbal did his undergraduate training at Damascus University College of Medicine graduating with distinction and a degree in science. He carried his medical degree with excellence. He initially moved to England where he did an internship at Bromsgrove General Hospital in Bromsgrove, England. He then finished his three year residency program at Christ Hospital Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois. During his last year of residency he served as Chief Medical Resident. He then did a fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease at Christ Hospital Medical Center/Rush University Affiliated Hospital serving as a Chief Cardiovascular Fellow in his final year.

After he completed his Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship, he was awarded a fellowship in Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology from the University of Massachusetts in Worcester, Mass. and graduated in June of 1992. He was trained under the direction of Dr. S. K. Stephen Huang, a world-renowned electrophysiologist who pioneered the field of radio frequency catheter ablation. He then started a fellowship in Interventional Cardiology at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, New Hampshire where he was appointed as an Instructor of Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School.

Following that Dr. Habbal joined MidAmerica Cardiovascular Consultants. Ltd. And has been on staff at Christ Hospital since July of 1993 where he has been practicing all aspects of clinical cardiology including electrophysiology, radio frequency catheter ablation and implantation of pacemaker and cardioverter defibrillators. He has also been very active in the area of cardiac catheterization and interventional cardiology including percutancous coronary angioplasty, stenting, rotational and directional atherectomy, angiojet thrombectomy, digital protection devices and intravascular ultrasound.

He is co-authored articles in leading cardiovascular journals. Dr. Habbal is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, a member of the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology, a Fellow of the Society of Cardiac Angiography and Interventions, Fellow of the American College of Chest Physician and the American Heart Association. He is also a member of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, American Medical Association and the Chicago Medical Society.

He was elected for numerous awards including Cardiac Care Unit Teacher of the Year, Consultant of the Year Award and Teacher of the Year Award presented by the University of Illinois, Christ Hospital Medical Center Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program, Internal Medicine Residency Program and Family Practice Residency Program. He has been involved in multiple clinical research trials and has been co-investigator of numerous national multi-center clinical trials including sudden cardiac death in heart failure trial, an NIH sponsored study, The Medronic jewel PCD active can system, the Miracle ICD, Insync III, Insync ICD, and the companion randomized trials.

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